Smog of Sei-An
by Esmara
Summary: Sei-An City and Ankoku Shrine have been abandoned for centuries, memorials to a plague that still haunts the city's ashes. It's among the ruins of the shrine, however, that a young woman who is more closely connected to the ruins than she'd like discovers that there may be a way to save the people of the city. But can she save herself? (Rated T for imagery and violence)
1. Chapter 1

_So guess who decided she was unhappy with Iris's characterization, and wanted to revise the existing chapters? This girl, that's who. Anyway, enjoy the revised first chapter, I'm going to be updating the new ones shortly. Then we can get to chapter 6. Sorry about this._

* * *

 _Right, edit number 2. I apologize for not thinking of this sooner: if you don't feel comfortable or safe reading about emotional neglect, then this might not be the fic for you, as it's part of Iris's backstory. Again, sorry for not adding this sooner._

* * *

Chapter 1: Ache

Her stomach always hurt in Ankoku Temple.

The tour guide always said it was dust from the shrine. "Allergens and old paint," he'd assure her with a click of the tongue, before leading the rest of her cousins further on. Iris was skeptical at best, but held her tongue. It was easier than arguing.

She didn't have dust allergies, and it wasn't a stomachache. It was pain, pain in the skin across her body, like a bear trap with dulled teeth clamping into her skin. Yet when she excused herself – and she did every year – to check her torso in the water's reflection, she found nothing. When she came back, her uncle shook his head, and she could hear him mutter something about her "hating Ryoshima Coast so much".

"I don't hate Ryoshima Coast."

"I know." Ken was still rubbing the Band-Aid on the side of his arm. The spot where she'd been vaccinated had stopped hurting a while ago, but that seemed more like a small reprieve for what was coming than actual relief. "Just the ruins."

"Just the ruins," she nodded. "They make me uncomfortable." That was the half-truth she'd settled on; it was easier than explaining the truth, especially when she barely understood what that was beyond a sense of unpleasant forboding.

"It's hard, I know." His hand was large on her shoulder. He was 7 years older than her, and even though he was just pushing 30, he acted like her dad more than her cousin. "It's for Dad, you know?"

"I know." Iris only seen a couple pictures of her mom, but her uncle – mom's brother – told her all the time about how she'd been captivated with the story of the city lost in flames, how thrilled she'd been when she'd seen the excavation site around the city's ruins. Everyone had been wearing surgical masks, due to the "strange gas" leaking out of the ground and wafting off of the ashes. Her mom, ever the adventurer, had handed off baby Iris to her uncle and stepped in without a mask.

She was the first to find out what the "strange gas" was. By the time they'd developed the vaccine, she was beyond saving.

So here they were, every year, memorializing her mother. Part of Iris always wanted to decline coming, to go somewhere else for the summer or at least come here by herself, but she always stopped. It wasn't fair to take this from her uncle; they'd been siblings their whole lives. He probably missed her more than Iris did, and she _tried,_ but it was difficult to mourn a mother she'd never truly known.

The shrine was lit with candles that smelled vaguely like green tea. It didn't do much for the stench of dust and rotting fabric, but it was a nice attempt, she'd give the tour people that. Ken stayed close behind her as they walked in.

The pain started immediately. She cringed, but didn't double over like she had some years. She had to push past it. She could see her uncle looking at her warily from the corner of his eye. _Just allergens,_ she told herself, even though she didn't believe it. It was the only explanation she had. They would only be in here for a few minutes.

"You okay?" Ken asked.

"Yeah," she lied.

They were free to walk around the shrine. "No souvenirs," the tour guide said, and started going on about the devotees who would come to the temple every year before the plague wiped them all out. She'd heard this, what, eighteen times before? They'd started coming here… when she was two, she remembered now, so seventeen times.

The broken statue at the back was the one thing Iris liked. It felt like home, strange as that sounded, like coming back to a familiar face. Even with the pain she liked it; when she was younger, she'd liked to pretend that it was waiting for her. The tour guide wasn't paying attention, so she moved closer to it, admiring the craftsmanship.

Two pinpoints sharpened in her. Something she didn't recognize sat in the shadows, a motionless lump. She grabbed at it, trying to anchor herself as the pain made her lightheaded. Her hand closed around something solid. The burning focused in rows across her skin. She pulled her arm back, clutching it tight, feeling the clamp on her stomach tighten.

In the haze of the pain she could barely focus on her actions. She fumbled with the lump of fabric until she found a drawstring and pulled. Something fell in her lap, and with another shake something else joined it –

And then the pain stopped. Her world came back into focus, first with her hearing. That was when she noticed the silence.

Everyone was gone. The tour guide, her uncle, her five other cousins… Ken. They were all gone.

"Ken?" No answer. The pain had completely receded, replaced with cold panic; the door to the temple hung open, but she couldn't see anyone outside. She started to get up, and felt a weight on her knee. She looked down to what had fallen out of what was now clearly a silk pouch.

The larger, heavier object was a chunky jade coin. It hung on a bit of red rope, and she could barely make out that there was writing on it – nothing intelligible though, as it had long been eroded. It has heavy in her hand, about the weight of an apple, and cool to the touch.

Sitting on top of the coin and spilling around it was a string of jade beads. They were much paler than the coin, but all of them were identical in color and shine. She lifted the necklace from her lap, entwining it between her fingers.

Iris frowned at her hands, and set the things down on the table.

The pain was immediate and burning. She doubled over, grabbing her stomach as the pain flared. Were her hands wet? Was she bleeding? She forced her eyes open. No blood, but oh, did it _hurt-_

Before she knew what she was doing, her hand closed around the necklace, and the pain fell silent again. She lifted it up, but not the coin – that didn't seem to be charmed.

 _Charmed?_ Iris shook her head, but still unclipped the clasp on the necklace. The beads were cool on her neck, and fit surprisingly well. The coin she shoved into her pocket – _no souvenirs,_ she thought to herself, but she wanted to show it to Ken. She had to catch up, or her uncle would never let her hear the end of it. Iris turned back to the door.

A woman stood at the entrance. She looked Iris in the eye, and beckoned her forward with a pale hand. Then she disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Lost

Iris nearly fell on her face scrambling down the stairs from the temple. The woman wasn't there. The air felt colder now.

"Ken?" She called out. Still, there was no answer. "Uncle? Ken? Where are you?" No sign of them anywhere. She couldn't hear the buzz of the next tour group, the sound of feet, anything. _Uncle's going to kill me,_ she thought half-seriously, but something else quickly caught her attention.

The sky was overcast, even though it had been a clear blue not half an hour before. Everything felt colder and more forbidding, ominous. This was not the Ryoshima Coast she knew – this one, somehow, was even _more_ unwelcoming.

She needed to find them. Iris hurried down to the main path, towards the beach. The ruins of Sei-An were the next stop on the tour – if she hurried, she could catch up and ask Ken if he'd noticed anything wrong.

The sand that got in her shoes felt coarser than usual. The sky was a gloomy gray now, and the waves were loud as they smacked into the shore, before retreating and winding up for another impact. She rubbed her arms but kept walking, even with the growing weight in her stomach and chill in her skin. It felt like she was being watched; she picked up the pace. Her flats clacked against the stairs up to the walkway, and she stopped to take a breath, looking up.

 _Something_ was floating at the end of the walkway. It was something red and smoking and seemed to fade in and out of existence. The jade suddenly felt very cold around her neck, and without taking her eyes off the thing, she unclasped it –

It was gone. The thing disappeared, and the suffocating gloom that hung over everything vanished with it. She stared at the beach. The sky was bright and the seas were blue again. No clouds.

Iris looked down at the necklace. She could see no marks, no symbols, just simple, plain jade. She could drop it here and walk away – and somehow she knew she'd find Ken and the others easily – and act like nothing had happened.

But she had to be sure first.

Iris took one long, slow look at her surroundings. She took in every detail she could, from the way the sun bounced off the brick to how moss was growing off the end of the path. She took a moment for three deep, slow breaths in and out, and closed her eyes. She reached up and put the necklace back on.

The world was gray again when she opened her eyes, and the red thing was coming closer. She stumbled back, hands searching for something to throw at the fast-approaching… scroll? Was that a scroll?

It was coming towards her faster, it could _see_ her! Her hand shoved into her pocket for something, anything, and found the coin.

 _Don't throw it!_ The voice was and wasn't hers at the same time, older, further away. _Run!_ She turned and ran towards the gates, and came to a halt right in front of a pool of spiraling water, a pool that had been dry for as long as she remembered. _It'll disappear if I take the necklace off,_ she thought, and reached up. Her fingers brushed the clasp as she looked over her shoulder towards it.

The woman was standing behind her and pushed her into the water.

The pool was biting cold, icy water swirling around her and pushing into her skin. Iris felt herself spinning, dizzier and dizzier as the water moved faster and puller her deeper than it should have. _Ken!_ She wanted to shout, but opening her mouth would mean giving up air. She couldn't open her eyes, but she started moving her arms, trying to force herself up. Her lungs burned. She broke through, salty air stinging her throat as she took in a gasp. She swam to the edge of the pool and pulled herself out, catching her breath on her knees, staring at her hands.

Her fist was still clenched in a death grip, but the coin was gone.

Iris looked back to the water. The pool now looked shallow but full, and she could see her water-logged and wide-eyed reflection in it. There was no twinkle of jade. She reached her hand in, palm pressing to cool mud when the water reached her elbow. Even the swirling had slowed, now just a rotating speck in the center. She pulled her hand out. The necklace shifted against her skin as she stood up.

The pool had been freezing, but the sun's warmth quickly took the edge off of the chill. She tilted her head back for a moment, savoring it with her eyes shut, giving herself a few seconds to catch her breath. 'That was close," she said to nobody in particular, and turned to face the walkway again.

The ancient structure looked almost brand new. No moss, no rubble, not a day of age to be seen. Two scrolls floated along the rock, but seemed to be keeping to themselves. Everything else seemed the same as it was, but no ominous clouds or stifling atmosphere. There was, however, a thick odor that was beginning to creep up on her, and as Iris turned to try and find the source further down the path, she found herself facing a mist-cloaked Sei-An City.

" _What?"_ She blurted out, taking a step back. It was standing. The city she had seen in burned rubble before was standing, buildings proud and new where they weren't wrapped in a noxious green. Of course the tour group was nowhere to be seen, but her uncle felt like much less of a problem right now.

She pulled the necklace off, wondering if it was another trick, but Sei-An was still there, as was the mist. Iris rubbed her eyes, looking at the necklace in disbelief before putting it back on.

"What's your problem, girly?" She turned aside, but saw nobody. "Down here!" Iris followed, and found herself facing… a white wolf, with curly tufts of fur at the knee-bows and a black-splotched tail, with something bouncing on its head. "You never seen a city before? And why are you all wet?"

"I…" she trailed off, swallowing. What was going _on?_ "I'm… a bit lost, I think."

"I can see that, you look like a fish out of water!" The speck laughed at his own joke, while the wolf took a step forward and sniffed her hand. Iris offered her open palm, and was met with a friendly lick. She smiled a bit at the wolf's wagging tail. "What's your name, girly?"

"Iris," she answered, "My name's Iris. And… who are you?" _And_ _ **what**_ _are you?_

"Iris? That's a weird name. This dumb mutt is Ammy," the bug-person said, and she could just barely make out a small body under a wide hat now that she was focusing on him, "and I'm Issun, the great travelling artist! You heading to the city, Iris?"

"I…" She looked at the smog that curled around the buildings and gate, swallowing and rubbing her arm. The Band-Aid must have come off in the water. _The Band-Aid._ "I guess I am." Somebody in there might be able to explain what was going on, right?

"Then follow us! We can get you un-lost, right Ammy?" The wolf barked and took off down the road, fur shining a bit in the sunny sky. Iris watched for a moment, before looking at the smog above. She imagined her mother, just for a moment, seeing the same smoke curling out of cracks in the ground.

Iris started running after Ammy towards the city gates.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Pestilence

"…Whoa."

"No kidding!" Issun had jumped off Ammy's back and onto Iris's shoulder, and she could barely tell he was looking back and forth along with her. "The city's usually pretty happening!"

"I think something _is_ happening," Iris covered her mouth, "just nothing _good."_

The smog was getting into her lungs. Her eyes watered and burned. It was overwhelmingly thick, almost impossible to breathe in; no wonder they'd burned the city down!

 _Burned the city down._ A chill went up her spine. All those people… all of _these_ people. She could see them now, people in the streets were struggling to walk, hacking and clutching their chests, clinging to walls. They were dying, slowly and painfully. Even the trees were bare and sickly. Men, women… there were _children_ trying to get inside, their bodies shaken by rough coughs.

Ammy had already run further in, seemingly unhindered by the mist. The wolf bounded forward with purpose, then stopped and bounded back to Iris.

"You know girly, you should probably do something about your clothes," Issun said. "You look like a sea ghost or something." Ammy barked, and sprinted off again into the smog.

"…thanks." Iris kept her hands over her mouth. She knew they were right, and on a normal day she'd probably be drawing a number of stares in her soaked blouse and jeans.

 _On a normal day I wouldn't be here,_ she thought as she stared into the city. _On a normal day I'd be studying or running errands with Ken._ But Ken wasn't here; that made it worse. She wasn't used to feeling this alone.

Iris was hugging her elbows when she finally started walking further in.

Even as she kept breathing in the smog, it didn't seem to bother her more than a mild cold would – she coughed, but that was about it. But everyone seemed weakened, nearly paralyzed by the sickness. A few were struggling to stand up. She passed by one man clinging to a wall, knees buckling.

Iris stopped. "Excuse me," she said, taking a step forward, "do you need help?" The man looked at her, shaking from his cough, and reached towards her. She slung his arm around her shoulder. "It's alright. You can just point me in the right direction."

The man didn't seem much better when she got him inside, but he smiled nonetheless and managed a "thank you". He pushed a few small coins into her hand.

"Oh no, I couldn't," Iris started, but he shook his head and smiled.

"You must," he said, voice a hoarse whisper, and she nodded silently, unable to say no. She smiled, and shut the door with a thank you.

One stranger turned into two, then three, then a couple of small children and an old man. The parents thanked her through their coughs when she knocked on the door, and two more strangers insisted she take small change as a thank you. Iris had stowed the coins in the silk pouch the necklace had been in, and now it sat in her jean pocket. Her stomach turned to think about taking it, but they'd been insistent. Now the streets were empty, save the guards standing by the gate Ammy had gone through.

They didn't look up when she walked through – one was asleep, the other coughing just as violently as anybody else. She stepped lightly past them, only letting go of her breath once she was further onto the bridge.

The water below looked like liquid smog, black liquid curling in wisps within the clear. Fish were little more than shadows below her, and they seemed to flock together on one side of the lake, away from something.

That _something_ was a column of swirling smog, spiraling into the air and clawing at the clouds above, tainting everything black and green. Iris's throat burned at the sight, and she swallowed, feeling her lungs itch and tighten. The air was thicker here, ominous, sickly.

She wished more than anything to be on that tour right now.

"Startling, is it not?"

The voice was lilting, lyrical, and Iris nearly jumped. She turned to the stranger leaning against the railing, his arms folded and eyes closed.

"Yeah," she managed, looking back up at the clouds. "It's… like a vortex."

" _Oui,_ it is." She heard him step forward, sandals clacking against the wood of the bridge. "Swallowing everything in its path. I've heard people call it a curse." He was standing beside her now, looking down. She wanted to shrink away from his gaze. Where was Ken? He was better at conversing than she was. Still, she couldn't just walk away, that was rude. "What do you think?"

"I think…" What could she even think? "I think… it's one of the stranger things I've seen today."

"It sounds as if you've seen quite a few, _ma cherie."_ No, he was definitely speaking French. Iris looked up at the man.

He was about a head and a half taller than her, this man, and pale as silk. He had narrow, angular eyes, his eyebrows little more than seemingly painted dots, and strands of yellow hair peeked though his cap. The man seemed serene, almost unnervingly so with the dark clouds looming above.

"You could say that." Iris felt her brow furrow. This man felt… different, somehow, in a different way than the city or the smog. He was serene, relaxed in a way that bothered her. How could he be so calm, when people were dying around them? When this city was going to be in ashes?

Her throat tightened. She'd completely forgotten about the city burning, and her uncle. How was she going to get back home?

"Is something wrong?" Her eyes met his – they were dark, like hers, although her eyes were wider. "You seem to have a lot on your mind, young lady."

"I'm a long way from home," she answered automatically, and mentally kicked herself. "And this storm's not like anything I've ever seen," she quickly added, looking away from this strange man who now seemed slightly interested in her, but more so amused. She wanted to curl up into a ball.

"Agreed," she saw him nod out of the corner of her eye. "And it shows no sign of letting up. I foresee this illness lingering long after it's gone…"

"I'm sorry?" The man turned away as Iris looked at him again, and he started walking towards the commoner's quarter. That hadn't made any sense.

"Do not worry about it, _ma cherie."_ He glanced back at her and smiled, "That won't be for some time. I believe somebody was looking for you in the temple – a wolf and a little bug?"

"Oh, thank you," Iris turned back to the temple, "I hope Ammy and Issun found what there were looking for. At least, I think they were looking for something…" She looked back up.

The man was gone. _Everybody_ was disappearing and walking away without explanation today, on top of everything else.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Scraps

The temple was chillingly empty.

Massive lanterns hung above, glowing a warm orange that only somewhat dispelled the green of the smog. The building was wide, scrolls lining one of the walls, and a podium sat in the middle, rolls of parchment scattered across it.

"Hello?" somehow her voice breaking the silence made it worse; this place felt like it should have been warm, welcoming. Instead Iris found herself profoundly alone. _At least I can breathe easier in here,_ she thought to herself.

It didn't help. She missed Ken – he'd probably crack a joke and break the tension effortlessly. She could almost hear him next to her, saying something about over-decorating the lanterns or the podium being centered in front of the entrance, "Somebody likes attention!" followed by his dad laugh. Her eyes were burning a bit.

She sighed, drowned out by the creak of floorboards beneath her. The initial apprehension had faded, replaced with longing. Even with the cleaner air, every breath thickened the air in her lungs with sad nostalgia.

She closed her eyes, and an image of the city's ruins flickered past her eyelids. The ashes in the wind, green wisps curling around burnt posts and tourists' ankles. Lives, bones were burnt into the ground then, charred remains of _these people_ she had just been speaking to, helping.

How long until the fire?

Outside of the temple, the column of smog stretched out over the Aristocratic Quarter. The courtyard itself seemed abandoned. There were no noblemen moving about, no children running around, nothing but tall towers with closed windows.

A clothesline lay in a pile, possibly knocked over. A couple of loose shirts and a pair of long pants rested in the dirt. Iris glanced at her own water-stained clothes. She forced down a pang of guilt and started rooting through the abandoned garments.

The cleanest shirt was a pale blue and felt like cotton, and the only pants were a gray that almost seemed white. They hung loosely on her, slightly too large and probably meant for men. She tucked the shirt in and tied them to her waist with a black cloth that was either a belt or a sash (well it was a belt now, wasn't it?), and slipped the purse underneath the belt for safekeeping. The jade beads clinked on her neck. Her shoes she couldn't do anything about – she just hoped her flats looked enough like slippers not to be a problem.

As she folded her old clothes, unsure of what to do with them, something slipped out of the pocket and hit the ground with a heavy _plunk._

Cell phone.

For a moment, all she could do was stare. Her eyes were burning now, and as she tried to take a breath a sob came out instead. Her hands flew to her face. She tried to keep the sobs in but couldn't do anything about the tears that streamed down her face.

She was centuries away from home, in a city that was supposed to be _dead._ The same smog that had brought Sei-An to ashes and killed her mom was overhead, and the only thing keeping her from dying was a yearly shot and round pieces of rock. And now? Now she was so lost she was following a wolf around for answers. A damn _wolf._ Another ugly sob escaped her.

Her phone buzzed.

It took a moment to register the sound, but as soon as she did she scrambled to pick the phone up. The screen was lit - hadn't it been out of power before? – and she flipped it open. It had a full signal.

 _Ken!_ She started dialing, holding the phone up to her ear and holding her breath as it rung. One, two, three… on the fourth ring the busy signal went off, and she pressed Hang Up in disappointment.

"…Wait…" Iris looked at the bars indicating her signal again. They were still full. She turned the phone over, flipped it shut, open again. Full signal, but no calls.

A 1 hovered over the text icon.

Seconds passed. Iris couldn't bring herself to act – odds were it was old, that she couldn't actually reach anyone and the phone was just acting up.

Oh, she felt so far from home. She just wanted to see something from her uncle or one of her cousins, even if there was no way she could respond. She just wanted to pretend everything was okay. Iris opened the text.

Her own number glared up at her. The text had come from her phone – there was a little exclamation point next to it. Unsent. The phone really _didn't_ have a signal, then. Iris sighed in disappointment, and almost closed the phone before she saw the text.

DO NOT TRUST HER.

 _I didn't send this._ Iris stood up – she had been kneeling this whole time - still looking at the text. She didn't even write like this, all capitals and no contractions, a period instead of an exclamation point or nothing. It looked almost antiquated, like something an older person would write. She flipped the phone shut. _So much for being comforted,_ she thought to herself, looking up again. Who was "her"? There was nobody here. She was still crying some, but pushed the tears off of her face as she stood up.

Searching turned up nothing but dead endsAll of the gates seemed shut tight, and the walls were too high and smooth to climb. Patches of ground were tainted black, and darkness snatched at her ankles as she walked around them.

One gate was open. It was by far the largest, painted scarlet and gold with a massive crest, and without the storm it would have looked quite magnificent. Now, however, even the elaborate frame seemed to shrink away from the clouds above.

"Ammy? Issun?"

"Hey, there you are! Come in here!" The smog was thicker here, but that was definitely Issun's voice. Iris took a deep breath, covered her face with her hands, and stepped into the courtyard.

The two guards were barely visible through the clouds. Iris coughed, covering her mouth and squeezing her eyes shut. She felt something brush against her leg, then hit it once, twice, gently swatting.

A tail.

"There you are, girly!" Iris opened her eyes enough to see Ammy standing by her, something thick in the wolf's mouth as Issun jumped up and down. "We were wondering if you'd got lost! And hey, you actually look like a normal person now!"

"Thanks, I think." Iris coughed again, eyes shutting once more. She was grateful, at least, that they wouldn't be able to see she'd been crying. "Can we get out of here? I can't breathe…"

"Sure thing, girly, we were just about to head back ourselves. Somebody here's gotta know how to help with this funky mist, right Ammy?" The bark was muffled, but the wolf wagged her tail, and Iris managed a smile behind her hands.

Ammy was considerably faster than Iris at walking, but she managed to keep a few paces behind the white wolf. _Isn't it sad,_ she couldn't help but think, _that this wolf seems to know what she's doing better than I do?_ Amaterasu disappeared back into the temple. Iris stopped at the door for a moment, breathing in the warm air before stepping in. Ammy was at the front door, staring intently at the front door, waiting for something.

Somebody stepped through.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Reflect

It was the ghost woman.

It _had_ to be her _._ She had the same hood, the same delicate jaw, and the same dark, vibrant eyes, though one of them was covered by her raven hair. The only difference was her necklace, which Iris was _sure_ hadn't had red beads, and that she was considerably less dead. The woman's eye went wide as she looked between Iris and Ammy, whose tail was still wagging.

Iris lowered her hands from her mouth – she'd forgotten she could breathe easier in here – and for a moment she and the woman held eye contact, both trying to figure out the other's presence. Iris as suddenly very aware of her red, puffy eyes and hoarse throat.

Ammy whined, and the spell was broken. The woman looked down at the wolf, then back at her.

"Oh my," she said, "I didn't realize I had guests waiting for me. Are you here to hear one of my sermons?" Ammy barked through the slips of paper, sitting down. Iris started to open her mouth, hoping to at least _somewhat_ explain, when issun spoke up.

"Holy cow, this sister's stacked!" Iris felt herself go flush– he'd blurted that out loud enough for people _outside_ to hear.

"…Yeah, that's Issun." Iris added weakly, "and the wolf is Ammy."

"Hey hey hey! This isn't just any wolf!" Issun protested, hopping off of Ammy's nose. "You happen to be looking at the slayer of the dreaded Orochi, Amaterasu!" Iris looked at Ammy, who looked back and wagged her tail.

"What? I heard the warrior was named Susano!" The priestess answered.

"Nope! Show her some of your divine power, Ammy!"

"Am I missing something?" Iris managed, when Ammy flicked her tail, and the lanterns surrounding the podium flared towards the roof before going out completely.

Iris and the priestess both let out a high-pitched shout.

"What on earth was that?" Four black dots stained the wood where the fire had touched it. Ammy seemed quite pleased with herself, tail wagging excitedly.

"That was just one of her powers! Ammy here has the Celestial brush on her side!" Issun declared.

"Celestial Brush…" the priestess murmured, looking intently at Ammy. "…Perhaps you can help me find a way to dispel this mist? And you, young lady, you seem undisturbed by the sickness. Perhaps you could explain – oh, dear."

Iris had fallen backwards and was curled up again, once more crying into her knees. This was too much, it was all too much, she couldn't do anything but shake and sob.

"Whoa, whoa, easy girly," she heard Issun say, but she hugged her knees closer to her chest.

"I want to go home," she managed, "I just want to be back home, with my cousins and my uncle in my time period, not centuries in the past where wolves control fire and smoke kills people and scrolls float around and… and…" Her voice broke off, and she let herself cry. _How pathetic,_ she thought weakly, her sobs slowing into hiccups.

A wet nose pressed against her arm. Iris opened her eyes, and Ammy licked her cheek.

"Hey, girly, it's alright." Issun jumped down to her feet. "Ammy's a big softy, see? She's not gonna hurt ya." Ammy wagged her tail, and Iris smiled the slightest bit. There was something comforting about the wolf; and the markings seemed a bit more vibrant now, somehow.

"Young lady, are you alright?" The priestess was standing over Ammy, and offered a hand. "Forgive me for not introducing myself – my name is Rao." Iris took the hand, and managed to stand up.

"Iris," she answered, standing up and wrapping her arms around herself. She felt Ammy's head brush against her leg – it helped, just a little.

"Well, Iris," Rao smiled, a lovely, gentle smile that put her at ease, "it seems you have your share of troubles as well. I'm sure Amaterasu and I could help, if you need it."

"I…" Iris swallowed, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks. "It's a long story."

"That is alright. Why don't you sit down? I'm happy to listen."

The entire story took longer than she expected. Issun kept laughing every time she mentioned the future, but once he got past the snickering he seemed transfixed. She described the ruined city as she had seen it not hours before, the temple, the ghost, the coin.

"You guys found me right after that. I was hoping to ask for help from somebody in the city, but this mist… it's killing everyone, isn't it?" Ammy, at least, had the decency not to laugh. Or maybe she couldn't, considering she was a wolf. Either way she was listening intently, head slightly tilted to one side.

Rao, meanwhile, looked thoughtful. Iris had left out the part with the ghost being identical to her, there was no way she was starting on _that._

"So you mean in you carry some of this sickness within you? And your body has learned how to fight it, without the protection of the gods?" Rao asked, expression one of focus.

"Yeah… it's required to visit the ruins. It's like… teaching your body to recognize an attack, so it can figure out how to defend itself, you know?"

"I see." Rao nodded, looking contemplative. She turned her attention to Ammy. "Amaterasu, you have divine powers on your side. Do you think you can stop the Water Dragon's rampage, as you have Orochi?" Ammy barked, tail wagging again. Rao turned back to Iris. "And Iris, do you think you can keep from succumbing to the sickness if we were to target it at the source?"

"I think so," Iris said, brow furrowing slightly. "The vaccination should be good for a year, and I got it this morning – my morning, but you know what I mean. It's brand new."

"Then perhaps…" Rao rested her chin on the back of her hand, "perhaps we can find a way to save Sei-An, before it's too late." She looked back at Iris. "I know you've been through a lot today, but we may need your help." Her hands were warm as they closed around Iris's. "I know what sort of coin brought you here. It is called a mermaid coin. We can get another one from the Dragon Palace, if we can placate the Water Dragon that's terrorizing the waters. But we need to find a way to stop this mist first, and you're immune." Her voice grew solemn. "Will you help, Iris?"

She stared at Rao for a long moment, before turning to Ammy. The wolf wagged her tail.

Iris squeezed Rao's hand.

"What do you need me to do?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Ship

The wood of the rotting ship's floorboards didn't creak – it _groaned,_ horribly, as if each step Iris took brought it unbearable pain. She tried to walk lightly as she followed Ammy further in, slightly hugging her arms in an empty gesture of self-assurance. _I'll be alright,_ she thought hollowly, then with a little more conviction added _the necklace will protect me. Rao wouldn't have given it to me without reason._

Of course, Rao hadn't seemed to acknowledge the necklace, or question where Iris had gotten in. That had to be a time travel thing. A later Rao, Iris was certain, would know exactly what it was for. _A later Rao is a ghost,_ she reminded herself, and hugged her arms just a little tighter.

 _I have Ammy, in any case._ The wolf was wagging her tail as she trotted forward, and Issun bounced on her head almost calmly. Almost as if a few minutes earlier he hadn't watched Ammy _summon the moon_ and cause the water around the ocean to part. Iris had _barely_ suppressed the urge to jump back and start panicking again, even when Ammy had jumped straight into the water and onto a massive lilypad that had _not_ been there before, then looked up at Iris expectantly.

At least the water was warm.

Rao was waiting for them at the end of a hallway that felt much longer than it actually was. Behind her was a gate, and even without the necklace Iris was certain she could not have missed the massive seal on the front, or the downright threatening aura it gave off.

"Ah, there you are." Rao walked over to them, and immediately placed something in Iris's hand. "This will keep you safe from the spirits here, Iris, should they attempt to possess you. And I am certain they will."

Iris looked down at her hands – it was a slip of parchment, browned and old, with a prayer in red ink. At the top of the slip was the shape of what might have been a single, closed eye.

"Wait, why does she need the sheet?" Issun piped up, "We've got Ammy right here to take care of everything!"

"The spirits here are harder to resist than you would think." Rao held up her own five prayer slips. "I will have my own, if any should attack us. However, this ship is vast and will be difficult to navigate in time for sunrise; I feel it would be best if you went with Iris, Issun, while I go with Amaterasu."

There was a two-second pause before Issun and Iris both spoke.

"Wait, _what?"_ Rao scooped Issun off of Ammy's head and placed him on Iris's shoulder, before sitting on Ammy's back. Iris looked at Issun. "Is she serious?" Iris whispered.

"She's – she's just joking, right babe?"

Rao flung a prayer slip at the gate, and it burst open. Ammy started to bound forward. "We will go left," Rao called back, "You two can will investigate this area for now." She looked down at Ammy, who whined a bit. "They will be safe," she said. The wolf looked at Iris for a moment, before turning and running right off the edge of the platform. Iris heard a slight _thump,_ and the patter of feet.

It was a good couple of minutes that Iris stood there, eyeing the sudden drop between her and the platform some distance away, dividing the ship in half. She walked to the edge; the floor dropped straight down several feet. It did not look like a soft landing.

"Issun, how do we get down?" She asked, gripping the sheet and crumpling it more than she probably should have.

"Just jump!" Issun said, and hopped off her shoulder to the ground below. "Like this! Leap before you look, girly! Or they're gonna get to all the good stuff before us!" Even though she couldn't see him, she could feel him looking up at her impatiently.

"But it's so _far…_ maybe I can…" Iris crouched down, maneuvering herself so she faced away from the drop. "If I just lower myself…" She gripped the corner of the platform as she moved one leg down, pressing it against the wall, and then the other-

She hit the ground with a much heavier sound than Ammy had, the small of her back hitting water-soaked wood. She groaned as she pushed herself up; the rot had softened the blow somewhat, but not enough for it to not hurt. Still, she got to her feet, and turned to face a number of treasure chests, all patiently lined up around her.

Issun did not seem to have noticed her inelegant fall – the chests had captured his attention. "Girly, look at all this!" Issun jumped up and down a few feet away. "We're gonna be rich! C'mon, open one!"

She looked between the chests. Some of them seemed a touch dirtier than others, more ravaged by the water and mold. She chose a cleaner one and knelt in front of it, fiddling with the lock.

The lid swung open and Iris jumped back with a shout. Clawed fingers snagged on her pant leg before pulling back – a red eye at the middle of the palm glared at her with murderous intent. She scrambled back. It swatted again. Red and burning pain shot up her leg and stained her clothes while she tried to get to her feet.

"Girly, the slip!" She flung it forward thoughtlessly, and it slapped the hand-

The thing _shrieked_ and sparked red, before collapsing forward and crumbling to dust. Iris stared at the ground – the prayer slip was still there, still looking like a plain sheet. Iris cautiously picked it up, cringing when she bent her leg. It felt like a scratch at best, but that didn't mean it didn't sting.

"It worked…" She said quietly, staring at the slip. The eye was half-open; hadn't it been closed before?

"What gives?" She felt Issun bounce onto her shoulder. "Did this boat spring a leak?"

"Hm?" Iris felt the water before she saw it – soaking through her slippers, quickly rising to her ankles and not stopping. "I thought-" It was still going, and she looked up – she could see a barrel rising with the water and started running towards it. Running as well as she could as it reached her knees, then her waist. "I thought the moon cleared the water out!" She grabbed onto the barrel's side and held on as the water kept rising.

"So did I, so much for that plan!" She was soaked up to her chest, and the water here was so much _colder,_ but it pushed her up even as the barrel rolled and shook, and she was able to grab the ledge and pull herself onto the flooring above the water. Issun dropped off of her shoulder, and she could see he was lying on his back, panting.

"What… what are you tired about?" Iris managed to ask, "You weren't the one trying not to drown."

"I got tired watching," Issun answered, and rolled on his side. He jumped up. "Girly, incoming!"

She looked up in time to see what looked like an eyeless woman flying at her, teeth chattering and arms grabbing. She ducked, felt a cold wind overhead as it flew past her. It turned around, and Iris readied herself, swinging the wet prayer slip as hard as she could.

A jolt of electricity made her pull her hand back. The ghost screeched and hit the water, and the slip clung to the ghost as it faded away, floating in the wrong direction. Iris watched, a pit of dread in her stomach.

"So much for that," she said quietly, and stood up. Both sides of the divide were flooded – she looked to the side that wasn't filled with chests, where a broken-down cannon slouched, a massive hole in the wood where it aimed. The water was slightly less deep, and she could see something floating in the water, shining as it did. "Issun, do you see that?"

"Looks like that's as close to treasure as we're gonna get. Grab it, girly!" Iris nodded, hesitating only a moment this time – oh, the water was _cold_ in here – before diving in.

It was like ice clinging to her skin. She resurfaced and gasped for air while she looked for the object. It was a few feet away – she swam over, grabbing it and heading straight for the cannon, pulling herself on top of it.

"It's a key." She turned it over in her hands. It was cold, colder than the water. The tail of it was bright and colorful. "… As long as we have it," she looked up, facing the flooded hall where platforms of wood drifted listlessly across the water, "I suppose we can find what it opens?"

"Now you're starting to get it. Let's go!"

She hit the water with a loud splash, and the sound seemed to echo with a smaller splash a bit further away. She swam, trying to ignore the way her clothes weighed down on her. Iris pulled herself onto one of the boards.

She could see another ghost coming. Her hand moved up to the necklace. _Rao wouldn't give it to me without reason._ She looked up at the ghost and readied herself.

The ghost flew past her.

"…It worked," she breathed, looking at Issun. "It worked!"

"How- are they just ignoring you?" Of course, she hadn't told him or Ammy about the necklace.

"This necklace, it… I'll explain when we're on ground." She looked forward. The hall made a turn, into the darkness beyond. There was no telling if the necklace would affect all of the ghosts. _But…_ The key rested heavy in her hand. Iris pulled herself up to the middle of the board, and grabbed a plank of driftwood. "Let's go." She started paddling forward, even as her phone buzzed and the sound of faint splashing trailed behind them.


	7. Chapter 7

_To my immense frustration, I actually lost the first version of this chapter due to Microsoft Word quitting on me before I could hit save. At least it gave me a chance to do another draft, right? Sorry for the delay on this one, I'm hoping to pick up the pace from here._

* * *

Chapter 7: Discoveries

"Girly, do you hear that?" Issun sounded anxious for the first time since she'd met him; there was a heaviness in Iris's own gut, but it didn't feel any different from the last few times she'd been nervous, so she'd been trying to ignore it. Still, Issun wasn't helping.

"Hear what?" The driftwood glided slowly across the water, aside from the occasional splash and creaking of rotting planks, the ship had been silent. Iris couldn't decide if she was thankful for that or not.

"There was this gurgling sound just a second ago." Iris tried to listen for it, but shook her head; there was nothing. "No? Either way, the sooner we get out of here, the better. You got the key?"

"Mm-hm." Iris was only half paying attention, the rest focused on trying to find a place to dock. The hall had opened up into a massive, empty chamber - hull, was that the word? - with only some sort of wooden walkway suspended from the roof, and a lone barrel left to float freely some distance away. Iris started to steer them towards the walkway; the closer end, she saw, was too far out of her reach. "Just a little longer..." As if responding, the plank creaked beneath them. "Just a _little_ longer." There was another groan, this one much louder.

And much further below.

"Issun?"

"Yeah, that's the sound."

Iris dared to look down for the first time since she'd started paddling. Something massive and green lurked beneath them, like a shadow, and small bubbles crawled towards the surface through cracks in what she could only guess was its gills. Iris turned back to Issun, and though she couldn't see his face, the silence coming from him was enough. She nodded, gripping the paddle just a little tighter as she started paddling again, as quietly as possible.

It felt like an eternity; each stroke of the paddle only brought them so far, and it was hard to push without making at least a small splash. Every sound, every movement made her want to look back down and see if the thing was still there, if it was following them. She kept her eyes on the bottom step of the walkway, counting each push of the board. Issun had stopped bouncing.

"We're almost there," she whispered, swallowing a bit and noting her throat felt dry. They drifted to the step, and she held the driftwood upright in the water, trying to bring them to a stop. The step was right overhead. "Just hold on..." One hand gripped the wooden step. Iris took a breath. "Alright... one, two-"

The wood splintered below them. Iris lost her hold and her hand came away splinted as she hit the water on her back. Salt stung her fingers. The water below roared.

Iris was surging upward. The green _thing_ was below and surrounding her. She rolled, fell, smacked against the water. The thing was moving again below. Ground, she needed to get to ground. Iris managed to get on her stomach and swimming, and saw the barrel. Good enough.

The thing charged upwards again. It pushed up, and she stopped, and it pushed them both out of the water with a dull roar. She jumped down, towards the barrel, and smacked against the side of it. She could hear it below readying again, clawed at the wood and tried to pull herself up. Something glinted right above, a chain, and Iris reached at it like a rope and pulled up.

"Iris, heads up!" It surged up before she could see it. The thing almost pressed to the ceiling, close to the hook the chain hung from. It started pulling down, and she grabbed it. She pulled her knees up as the green shape closed and knocked a sandal off, both disappearing into the water.

Another groan, and the thing grew still. _It can't find me,_ she thought with relief.

"Girly?" She couldn't see Issun, but could make out his voice, a small squeak, below. The chain was sliding through the loop it was hooked through, and she felt herself pulling the chain down. "You okay up there?" Her lungs burned and her hands stung, and she wasn't sure she could breathe.

"...I survived?" She asked as she was lowered; the chain stopped a foot above the barrel. She looked at the thing, hovering at the floor below them; she gripped the chain just a little tighter, and flinched at the splinters pressed into her skin. "Issun, where are you?"

"Still in the water!" She looked down, but couldn't make him out; there was, for an instant, a tiny flash of light.

"Issun, careful! It'll see you!"

"Iris?"

Iris shouted in surprise and looked up. The closest wall was splintered, and she could barely see Rao and Ammy looking through.

"There's something down there." She glanced down; the thing was lurking right below. "I can't get down." Ammy barked, and disappeared for a moment. "Wait, where are you-"

There was a howl, and the entire boat groaned. The water rushed out through cracks in the wood, and the barrel fell to the floor. She could hear rustling, and a moment later there was a scuffing sound overhead.

"Hold on," she heard Rao say, and the chain was pulled up and over the edge of the wall, onto the walkway. She let herself fall, barely paying attention as Ammy sniffed her face. "Can you catch your breath? We need to keep going."

"Yeah... yeah." Iris gulped a breath, and pushed herself up; her hands now burned, but she was alive. "There's... a key down there... I think we can get at the door."

"Then as soon as you're ready, lead the way."

Iris ended up riding on Ammy's back. Rao walked alongside them, and even with her mind still playing catch-up with what had just happened, Iris got the feeling Issun was happy to be on the priestess's shoulder. She pointed them towards the door, and let Rao do the honors of unlocking it. The cyclops-shaped lock screeched as it was opened. Iris closed her eyes and tried not to think about it, and they moved forward, into a room with a single gold chest.

"That's gotta be the treasure!" Issun bounced ahead - how was he okay? - and stopped at the lock, bouncing up. She heard a click. The lid swung open, and something shining leaped out, landing and rocking in front of them.

"...It's a hammer." Iris blinked. "It's... it's a _hammer."_

"Not the Fox Rods..." Rao lifted it up, turned it over in her hands. "It must be important, for the Water Dragon to guard it so jealously. We should leave before it wakes." Ammy nodded, and turned back to the door.

"Hold on," Iris started as Rao got on Ammy's back, and Issun on Rao's shoulder. "What Water Dragon?"


	8. Chapter 8

_..._

 _I promise the next chapter won't take me over a year._

* * *

Chapter 8: A Setback

This wasn't the first time in her life that Iris had questioned her own decision. She had a long list of second-guesses she could remember clearly. It was one of her most consistent, if not impressive, qualities; she was not good with trusting her own choices.

This one had to be her most questionable yet.

"Rao, how do we look out for a Water Dragon, anyway?" Rao was perched on Ammy's back, and Iris was being toted behind them in the biggest lilypad she had ever seen. She sat hugging her legs, occasionally looking at her ankles. That glowing hammer floated next to her, bobbing back and forth, and she wasn't sure if it was making her more or less nervous. "What do we do if we see one?"

Rao smiled at her, reassuring, but it felt a little like the way one might reassure a small child. "Amaterasu will get us across before the Dragon reaches us. Have faith, Iris. All will be well." Iris nodded and pushed a strand of hair from her face. She looked back at the hammer again, and it glowed a little brighter, just for a moment. She turned her attention to the sky; the pale blue was decorated with some of the fluffiest clouds she'd ever seen. She let herself smile.

Her phone buzzed. Iris jumped a little, but reached into her belt and pulled it out. It had buzzed earlier; she had two messages waiting. She opened the most recent one.

HURRY

She furrowed her brow. Hurry from what? She looked around; the waves were a little stronger, but other than that there was nothing. Another buzz. She looked again.

WARN HER

"Um, Ammy?" She started, but she didn't know what she was supposed to say, "can we maybe go a little faster?" She heard a splash in the distance. So did Rao, apparently, because she looked over her shoulder. The serenity in her expression had stirred. "Rao?"

"...yes, let's. Ammy, if you could?" There was another splash. Another buzz.

TAKE THE HAMMER AND SWIM

"We're going as fast as we can! What's the matter with you two?" Issun seemed untroubled, but the splash had gotten closer. Iris grabbed the hammer; she was ready to jump into that vast water just to cool the tension in her chest.

"We should hurry," Rao said, and Iris nodded. Another buzz. Iris saw a shadow in the corner of her eye just as she looked down.

BEHIND YOU

The water burst with a roar. Iris barely saw the creature, just the massive blue and the water cascading down and onto her. Issun was shouting. Iris froze; it roared again, and she screamed.

Iris would never be able to remember the next few seconds clearly. She knew this; in the three seconds it took her to stop screaming the thing roared at them again and dove, and she was swallowed whole by the ocean.

The water bit into her skin with cold, and it jolted her into clarity. Iris shoved her phone in her belt and looked around. The hammer's light glowed against the purple seas for a split second, and she started to reach for it.

The purple sea was the dragon's head, and she pulled her hand back as its jaws swallowed the hammer. It surged forward and pushed her back, and she broke the surface again.

"Ammy!" It came out in a gasp for air. The world was spinning; she was cold and disoriented and the dragon was tearing the water apart. She blinked, looking around wildly, and saw the lilypad; she swam towards it, even though she could not see Ammy. The dragon swam past her just as she grabbed onto it, its great crest cracking the sea's surface like a blade. She looked towards it just in time to see Ammy, swimming like her life depended on it.

Rao was gone.

"Oh no." Her voice was a hoarse whisper. Iris kicked against the water and found it tugged at her clothes like the wind, slowing her, keeping her in the dragon's grip. She couldn't focus on that - it was headed straight for Ammy. "Ammy, hurry!" What else could she do?

The dragon roared in the water. Then it roared again. Another sound - a groan.

The Water Dragon threw its head back and gave a great and terrible shriek, and lunged its head forward. Iris froze, watching, as it did it again.

Was it… was it _coughing?_

Another guttural sound launched its head forward and threw something into the water. Another cough sent something else crashing into the beach, and the dragon fell into the water with one final crash.

For several seconds Iris couldn't move. She stared, clinging onto that lilypad, watching the shadow. It was still, and somehow, it was shrinking.

"Girly?" She heard Issun calling from the shore, but she didn't turn her head. Something in her stomach was turning. Something about this felt wrong.

She kicked again, and her lilypad carried her to the shadow and the figure casting it, floating just on top of the water. She was almost there when she recognized floating blue as robes, and a head turned to the sky.

"It's a person!" She called to Ammy. He was breathing, but looked pained; he didn't open his eyes. Somehow the water did not drag him down, and he floated effortlessly on his back. Iris grabbed onto his arm and started kicking.

Beneath her, she saw more shadows darting about in all directions, disappearing from view. She slowly approached the shore, focusing on just getting herself and the man out of the water. The lilypad vanished as they both hit sand, and she let herself fall to the beach from all fours in ragged relief.

"Girly, are you okay?" Amaterasu ran up to her and nosed her cheek with a whine. The thing that had hit the beach - some sort of crystal ball, multicolored and swirling - rested on her back. Iris looked up and smiled, just a little.

"Hey," she said, laughing a bit despite her exhaustion, "I think we just survived a water dragon."

The man was coughing. He rolled onto his side and coughed again; he was slowly regaining consciousness, if his groans were any indication, and there was something in his throat. He coughed harder, painfully, and spat into the sand; small, glowing chunks of white. Iris closed her eyes again.

"Hey Ammy,, any idea what that's about?" Issun asked. Iris sat up with a sigh.

"I'm pretty sure that's our hammer."


End file.
